Over the past week or so a series of potential New Mandala stories have piled up in my inbox. To clear some of the backlog here is an omnibus post of some of the key issues.

Another degree for Lee?

It has come to my attention that the University of North Carolina has also decided to confer an honorary degree on Lee Kuan Yew. Perhaps the public relations debacle at the ANU may make them think twice about this. New Mandala readers may want to make their views known to UNC Chancellor Jame Moeser [James_Moeser@unc.edu]

Bangkok rallies

The ongoing anti-coup rallies in Bangkok seem to be making the junta very nervous indeed. Rural residents have been prevented by army and police from travelling to join the rallies and, most recently, the junta has persuaded authorities to close off Sanam Luang altogether. In response, today’s rally (4.00 PM) has been relocated to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Building Square. Puppet PM Surayud has held off on declaring a state of emergency in Bangkok (as requested by the generals) but there can be little confidence that open expressions of anti-coup sentiment will be tolerated much longer. Particularly galling for the regime is the protesters’ condemnation of Privy Councillor Prem’s role in the coup. This is is about as close as protestors can come to directing criticism at the monarchy itself. Australian Foreign Affairs authorities are sufficiently concerned about the increasingly tense situation in Bangkok to advise travellers to avoid “demonstrations, political rallies and concentrations of military personnel.”

Suchinda’s wisdom

Earlier this month Thai newspapers featured an interview with former coup-maker General Suchinda Khraprayoon. An English language version of the interview is available here. And here is a fuller Thai version [suchinda-interview.pdf]. Here is a brief extract from the English version:

Q : Do you agree with the idea that the prime minister does not need to come from the election? A : I agree with this idea 100 per cent because if any of politicians are ready to assume this position, they would not let others to take it. But now we just look at this issue as a continuation of power (of the military leadership). We can’t tackle this problem alone without resolving the longer-term problem. I don’t agree with the constitution that dwells on details until we cannot move. The constitution must not have too many articles. It should be written in broad term, so that we can fill up the details in the organic law. I don’t agree with a public hearing on the constitution either. The people don’t know anything. Even myself have not read the old constitutions. The people would not know how many articles in the constitution there are.

Suchinda’s views on the will of the people were rather different when Thaksin was still in power:

Former prime minister General Suchinda Kraprayoon has a word of advice for the current head of government. He said the best option for Thaksin Shinawatra to get off the current political turmoil was to dissolve the House and pave the way for a snap election. “The House dissolution will be the best way out of the crisis facing Thaksin.” If Thaksin was still popular among voters, his party would win the election and return to power again, Suchinda said.

Switching patrons?

A number of New Mandala readers have drawn my attention to a recent article by Shawn Crispin in the Asia Times. There is not a lot that I agree with in the article, but at least it does represent some attempt to take rural public opinion seriously. But, in the end, it relies on the old stereotype of patronage driven politics, with the military now replacing Thaksin as the ultimate patron:

“Thaksin’s grassroots support was always more financial than philosophical,” said a researcher connected with Chiang Mai University’s Social Research Center. “After the coup, those allegiances broke down. Now that the military is stepping in to fill [the] financial gap, now the people are suddenly on their side.”

Nice to see those Chiang Mai researchers demonstrating such ethnographic nuance! Perhaps they should invite Suchinda up to present a seminar on rural ignorance.

Migrating to Laos

Critics of economic development in Thailand often point to the apparently terrible impacts on the livelihoods of rural farmers. In response I have often wondered why Thailand’s rural masses are not migrating across the border to Laos where they can pursue lifestyles relatively untroubled by the trappings of modernity. Well, some have threatened to do just that:

(BangkokPost.com) – More than 300 debt-ridden farmers dispersed Wednesday after a week of failed attempt in getting assistance from the government in settling their debts. The protesters gathered in front of the Government House since last Monday to ask the government to give concrete measures to help them settling debts after those who failed to repay their debts for creditors including financial institutions and agricultural cooperatives started seizing their assets. The protestors expressed disappointment with the government’s reaction and intention to help the farmers, considered the grassroots of the Thai economy. The group representatives said they would migrate to Laos and set up an immigration centre there. They said they would hand their Thai identification cards back to the government before entering the neighbouring country in response to the government’s negligence to the villagers. The group planned to meet National Legislative Assembly members before migrating to Laos.

Will this trickle lead to a flood of refugees from Thailand’s capitalist excess? I don’t think so.

8 Comments

Yes I saw that interview with Suchinda myself and marvelled at his own open admission of ignorance as well as his unqualified contempt for the Thai people.

Bu I think your take on the Crispin article however, together with your admiration for the Great Man himself, or perhaps just for the unbridled crony capitalism that he represents, as displayed in your own article “Yes, I understand you!” is mistaken.

I was spending time at a school in a village in Chiang Rai Province at the time of the rally you attended here, there were several rallies outside of Bangkok at that time, and I can remember village folks smiling wanly as they were trucked in the heat from the village and the school to another of the Great Man’s rallies, recounting that they were only getting 50 Baht a head to attend : “It should be 100 Baht”. But the TRT middle men, emulating their mentor, had pocketed half the allocated payout themselves.

I don’t think that the villagers are at all stupid. They were never taken in by the Great Man. They realized that his policies were primarily the means of enriching himself, his family, and his cronies at the county’s expense. But that’s what all the politicians do, yet he offered to share a bit of the spoils with them, and that was a first, and the best choice available to them.

Apparently he still may be. The Thai people are very poorly served, as are the people around the globe, by their entrenched political classes.

the junta can block most protesters from upcountry for the time being. however, the thing to watch is the songkran holiday. lots of bangkok residents will go upcountry as usual, when they come back, the protesters can come along in that great wave. it will be hard to bar them at this time, without causing a great deal of hassle to all travelers.

“Apparently he still may be. The Thai people are very poorly served, as are the people around the globe, by their entrenched political classes.”

Hopefullly the new Finance Minister will deliver on his promise:

“He said the Finance Ministry would also look to assist low-income residents through state support to ease the impact of the slowing economy.”

“I don’t want to concentrate on the overall economic growth figures. It’s more important to think about who has been affected [by the downturn],” Dr Chalongphob said, adding that state-owned banks would be encouraged to accelerate their lending programmes while maintaining overall credit quality.

“During the Thaksin Shinawatra governments, the state gave too much [to the grassroots]. Now we have pulled back, but perhaps too quickly,” he said (Full article: )

Admittedly, it’s too bad that he’s saying they spent too much. The wells have dried up completely around Chiang Rai this week, as they do before Songkran every year recently.

TRT did promise public water but it seems to be the end of that dream. Of course, if decisionmaking and financing was more decentralised and localised, and the project was not eaten clean by corruption, people could help themselves and central government help wouldn’t even be needed.

‘ Of course, if decisionmaking and financing was more decentralised and localised, and the project was not eaten clean by corruption, people could help themselves and central government help wouldn’t even be needed. ‘

‘ Admittedly, it’s too bad that he’s saying they spent too much. The wells have dried up completely around Chiang Rai this week, as they do before Songkran every year recently. ‘

We have floods in the rainy season and drought in the hot season. If only we had some means to buffer the rainfall. To soak it up instead of letting it run off so precipitously when the skies open, and then to let it out when the hot season comes and it all dries up.

What we need is a forest!

I see that the present regime has cancelled the 10 year reforestation project of the previous regime. Said it had only planted 20,000 rai in its first 3 years and it didn’t look like it would meet its goal of millions of rai (3,000,000?) replanted at the rate it was going. CMU was called upon to come up with a new plan.

The problem, of course, is follow through. They plant a bunch of trees and then let them die.

If they made a long term commitment to the “hill tribes” as stewards of the forests (making them citizens would be a good start) they could grow back the forests which would ameliorate the cycle of flood and drought, as well as cut back on the highland burning and accompanying “haze”, and make Northern Thailand begin to represent paradise, again. Everyone loves paradise… even Chinese and Western tourists!

This is exactly the sort of project that ought to taken up regionally, locally. The central government, the entrenched political class, will never do anything about such problems, other than allocate money for their solution… and then steal it.

“If they made a long term commitment to the “hill tribes” as stewards of the forests (making them citizens would be a good start) they could grow back the forests which would ameliorate the cycle of flood and drought, as well as cut back on the highland burning and accompanying “haze”, and make Northern Thailand begin to represent paradise, again. Everyone loves paradise… even Chinese and Western tourists!”

“Stewards of the forests” sounds like a good way for them to maintain their identity and self-respect.

There needs to be a zero tolerance policy against hilltribe racism in Thai schools and government. An appreciation of individual “hilltribe” groups (Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Karen,…) and their cultures and histories should be part of the curriculum. Otherwise, they will just become fundamentalist Christians because those are the people who give them a positive identity and self-esteem.

Buddhism in Thailand does not seem very intent on capturing them as hilltribes, they have to change their identities and become Thais first. Pretty soon everyone will look and behave like they come from Bangkok and then Thailand will no longer be a diverse and interesting place.

In Burma, on the other hand, the Buddhist scriptures have actually been translated into Karen. In Keng Tung in the Eastern Shan states Akha’s maintain a strong identity, although mostly along Catholic lines with Christmas being the big annual festival.

“Another degree for Lee? It has come to my attention that the University of North Carolina has also decided to confer an honorary degree on Lee Kuan Yew. Perhaps the public relations debacle at the ANU may make them think twice about this. New Mandala readers may want to make their views known to UNC Chancellor Jame Moeser.”

The last international figure they gave a degree to was Anand Panyarachun. I think one can make a better case for him than for Harry Lee.

The Lee opportunity seems to be being driven by some of the same interests that were seen at ANU. That is, UNC has developing links with NUS and thinks that sucking up to Lee will help (it might!) and there are business people in UNC’s advisory groups who think Lee is a model political leader.